Saving Gas and Cutting Pollution with Hybrid Cars

Automobile manufacturers have responded to growing concern for the environment by producing hybrid vehicles that work by adding an electric motor to a gasoline engine, thereby reducing the amount of fuel needed to run the vehicle, reducing the greenhouse gases it emits, and making it much gentler on the environment.

Hybrid cars are stylish, economical on gas, and gentle on the environment.

The electric system’s battery automatically recharges as you drive and when you brake. As long as there’s power in the battery, the vehicle automatically uses the electric motor as power. When there’s not enough electric power available, the vehicle switches back to the gas engine.

When the vehicle operates on electric power, there simply aren’t any emissions. Hybrids are already a strong alternative for many drivers, and their popularity will only grow. (Take one out for a test drive and prepare to be fascinated by the dashboard display that shows where the vehicle is drawing power from and where it’s being generated.)

Nowadays, manufacturers are adding a twist to conventional hybrid electric vehicles with a plug-in option. These plug-in hybrids still have both the gas engine and the electric motor and battery system, but you also can plug them into a power source. Why plug the vehicle in? So the vehicle can store more power in the battery system, increasing the amount of time that electricity powers the vehicle.

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